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Ryan Peek
I have worked in many rivers and aquatic systems in California, and continue to strive to find ways to apply research to conservation management. I am particularly interested in using a confluence of disciplines such as genomics, hydrology, ecology, and geomorphology to better understand current and future impacts to our freshwater ecosystems.
I am a strong advocate for open science, and education; and giving voices, training, and space for folks who support and foster a supportive community with diverse questions and views.
Education
PhD, Ecology (with certificate in Conservation Management)
UC Davis
Davis, CA
2018 - 2014
- Population genetics of a sentinel stream-breeding frog (Rana boylii)
M.S., Biology
University of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
2010 - 2008
- Thesis: Landscape Genetics of Foothill Yellow-Legged Frogs (Rana boylii) in regulated and unregulated rivers: Assessing connectivity and genetic fragmentation
B.S. Wildlife, Fish & Conservation Ecology
UC Davis
Davis, CA
2002 - 1998
- Emphasis in Behavioral Ecology
Selected Positions
Post-doctoral Researcher
Center for Watershed Sciences
UC Davis
2020 - 2018
- Analysis of connectivity and genetic health of rare endemic frogs in CA, NV, and AZ to inform conservation management.
- Analysis of floodplain foodwebs for salmon to better understand connectivity and seasonality for management.
- Research and analysis on how to link ecological bioassessment data with flow management for functional environmental flows.
Graduate Student Researcher
Center for Watershed Sciences
UC Davis
2018 - 2014
- Research in amphibian/aquatic ecology, with particular focus on assessing ecological health with molecular techniques to inform conservation in river ecosystems.
Biological Science Technician
USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station
Davis, CA
2010
- Developed and designed website on ecology, river regulation and conservation of the foothill yellow-legged frog (Rana boylii), including GIS synthesis and development of a distribution map showing over 6,000 records from multiple sources (http://gis.fs.fed.us/psw/topics/wildlife/herp/rana_boylii/).
- Conducted 1-D RHABSIM modeling and analysis. Coordinate field research, data collection, and writing.
Research Assistant II
UC Berkeley
Berkeley, CA
2010 - 2009
- As part of a California Energy Commission study of regulated flow effects on foothill yellow-legged frog (Rana boylii) breeding habitat, led field research crews for extensive field data collection.
- Collaborated with Sarah Yarnell and Amy Lind on field methodology and integrating graduate research with the grant research.
Research Assistant II
UC Davis
Davis, CA
2009
- Working with Sarah Kupferberg and Alessandro Catenazzi, assisted in research, as part of a California Energy Commission study, of regulated flow effects on water temperatures and foothill yellow-legged frog (Rana boylii)
- Including predation experiments and tadpole growth experiments, Helped deploy thermographs in various Sierran rivers throughout California. Conducting research on tributary density in relation to amphibian occupancy in regulated rivers in California.
Selected Writing
Using AWK and R to Parse 25tb
LiveFreeOrDichotomize.com
N/A
2019
- Story of parsing large amounts of genomics data.
- Provided advice for dealing with data much larger than disk.
- Reached top of HackerNews.
The Great Student Migration
The New York Times
N/A
2016
- Most shared and discussed article from the New York Times for August 2016.